Subdivision

Who
can really say what meaning a painting carries? At uni we were told the viewer
holds most of the power in deciding an artworks meaning. When asked, Kemi is begrudging
towards explaining any concepts behind Subdivision. He just painted it, he
says.

So
maybe Niko can shed some light on it from her unique perspective – being close
to the artist but not part of the process (in this case). It was painted in the
months before Rhea was born, those blissful last days full of freedom that you now
hold in such esteem but at the time spent dreaming of your future alien life as
parents. The timelessness, or time-stillness, of the scenes in this painting
speak to this feeling.

The
juxtaposition of the two landscapes, both seemingly out of time and ancient. The
ocean under a blank sky; infinite possibility, of such depth, such force to
alter and destroy, while still relatively unchanging. A body unmoved by the activity
within. A tussock landscape sliced to reveal a bed of river rocks. Once a river
ran here, forever changing the lay of the earth, now stillness pervades and
only blades of ochre grass move with the wind. An almost hostile environment until
you get down on knees and see the insects scuttle, the intricate mosses
flowering and the perfect coexistence of everything, no space wasted, no
overcrowding or aggression.

Placed
above all, the human element that cannot be overlooked. Centred on an alter of
nature, carefully dissected and long abandoned. The attention to detail romanticises
the materials but the structure hovers untethered by concrete foundations, a
kind of violence avoided. Understood within this context Subdivision is an ode
to nature that allows human contribution but ignores the impact of time. A
peace pervades, felt high in the mountains or deep at sea, where natures power,
the power to just be, overtakes any inclination to change.